Tool cabinet



J- J. CASE TOOL CABINET July 14; 1970 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed DeC. 14. 1967 Fig. 2

T N E V m July 14, 1970v J. J. CASE 3,520,583

TOOL CABINET Filed Dec. 14, 1967 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 fol 34 F/'g .3 /o 32 l l u .It Hup. P .I Hmmm j s :1 llwff 70V [UIUIHHH1.

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United States Patent O 3,520,583 TOL CABINET .lohn J. Case, 1407 Lafayette, Ottawa, Ill. 61350 Filed Dec. 14, 1967, Ser. No. 690,454 Int. Cl. A4710 83/04 U.S. Cl. 312--277 14 Claims ABSTRACT F THE DISCLOSURE A multisectional tool cabinet including a plurality of side-by-side cabinet sections removably supported from a single base and removably secured together, the cabinet sections including means therein defining a plurality of individual tool storing compartments and a unitary work bench defining top or cover for the tool cabinet removably secured over the upper ends of the side-byside cabinet sections and including marginal edge portions projecting outwardly of corresponding sides of the cabinet sections as well as a removable fence structure.

The tool cabinet of the instant invention has been specifically designed to provide a cabinet structure in which a large number of tools may be completely stored and which includes a large work bench defining removable top upon which workpieces may have work performed thereon and be repaired. The tool cabinet is, however, constructed of a plurality of basic component parts removably secured together in order that the tool cabinet may be readily disassembled for ease in transport from one location to another. Further, the tool cabinet is provided with a base support frame including ground engaging wheels and the cabinet portion itself includes a plurality of cabinet sections removably supported from the wheeled base section. In this manner, all but a selected cabinet section may be removed from the wheeled supporting base enabling the remaining cabinet section to be readily rolled to a different work area.

The plurality of individual cabinet sections have a single work bench defining top removably secured thereover and the top is constructed in a manner whereby it includes at least one marginal edge portion projecting horizontally outwardly from a corresponding portion of the cabinet structure disposed therebeneath and the outwardly projecting portion of the work bench defining top is provided with at least one opening therethrough in order that holes may be bored or drilled through workpieces without the boring or drilling tool engaging the work bench defining top of the tool cabinet. The work bench is also provided with a removable fence assembly whereby a plurality of small parts may be retained upon the upper surface of the work bench defining top by means of the fence or the fence may be removed in order to provide a large planar surafce upon which large workpieces may be readily shifted in position without interference with any portion of the cabinet projecting upwardly from the work bench defining top of the cabinet.

In addition to the work bench defining top including a removable fence, the top also is provided with a removable wear resistant cover sheet that may be readily replaced whenever a cover sheet becomes excessively marred or damaged.

The main object of this invention is to provide an improved tool cabinet including structural features rendering the tool cabinet versatile in housing large numbers of various types of tools and supporting various types of workpieces while having work performed thereon.

Yet another object of this invention is to provide a tool cabinet suiciently large enough to store a large quantity of tools and yet readily dismountable into individual smaller components for ease in transport.

Still another object of this inevntion is to provide a tool cabinet that may be readily transported from one work location to another.

A final object of this invention to be specifically enumerated herein is to provide a tool cabinet in accordance with the preceding objects which will conform to conventional forms of manufacture, be of simple construction and easy to use so as to provide a device that will be economically feasible, long lasting and relatively trouble free in operation.

These together with other objects and advantages which will become subsequently apparent reside in the details of construction and operation as more fully hereinafter described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings forming a part hereof, wherein like numerals refer to like parts throughout, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the tool cabinet;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially upon a plane indicated by the section line 2-2 of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged top plan view of the tool cabinet with the removable work bench defining top thereof removed;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged vertical sectional view taken substantially upon a plane indicated by the section line 4-4 of FIG. l; and

FIG. 5 is an exploded perspective view of the tool cabinet.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings the numeral generally designates the tool cabinet which includes a wheeled support base referred to in general by the reference numeral 12, a cabinet structure generally referred to by the reference numeral 14 and a removable work bench defining top referred to in general by the reference numeral 16.

The wheeled support base 12 is defined by a generally rectangular frame consisting of angle iron longitudinal members and 22 interconnected at corresponding ends by transversely extending angle irons 24 and 26. Each corner of the frame 18 includes a dependingly supported castor wheel assembly generally referred to by the reference numeral 28 and it may therefore be seen that the wheeled support base 12 defines a mobile upwardly opening receptacle in which to telescopingly receive the lower end of the cabinet structure 14.

The cabinet structure 14 includes a pair of side-byside cabinet sections generally referred to by the reference numerals 30 and 32. The cabinet section 30 includes an outer cabinet housing referred to in general by the reference numeral 34 including an outer side wall 36 and a rear wall 38. The housing 34 includes an open front and a skeleton inner side wall defined by a plurality of corner uprights and 42. On the other hand, the cabinet section 32 includes an outer housing referred to in general by the reference numeral 44 defined by opposite side walls 46 and 48 and a rear wall 50. The housing 34 is relatively narrow and the housing 44 is considerably wider than the housing 34, Also, the cabinet structure 14 includes a pair of swingable doors 52 and 54 pivotally supported from the housings 34 and 44, respectively, for closing the front of the cabinet structure 14, the doors 52 and 54 being of approximately the same size and therefore it will be noted that the door 54 does not completely close the front of the cabinet section 32 and that the door 52 somewhat overlaps the front of the cabinet section 32.

The cabinet structures 30 and 32 include bottom walls 56 and 58, respectively, and the remote side walls 36 and 48 project slightly downwardly below the bottom walls 56 and 58 and therefore are capable of supporting the corresponding sides of the housings 34 and 44 within the wheeled support base 12 from the horizontal flange portions of the transverse angle members 24 and 26 with the bottom walls 56 and 58 spaced slightly above the plane in which the horizontal flange portions of the wheeled supported base are disposed.

When the housings 34 and 44 are supported within the wheeled support base, the opposing sides of the housings 34 and 44 abut against each other. The uprights 40 and 42 of the housing 34 include sets of vertically spaced and aligned sleeves and 62 and the outer side of the side wall 46 of the housing 44 include similar sets of vertically aligned sleeves l64 which are receivable and alignable between the sleeves 60 and 62. A pair of T-rods 66 are provided and include upstanding shank portions 68 and horizontally disposed crosshead portions whose opposite ends are turned downwardly as at 72. The shank portions 68 are receivable downwardly through the aligned sleeves 60, 62 and 64 of the housings 44 in order to lock the latter together and the crosshead portions 70 of the T-rods 66 overlie corresponding portions of the upper ends of the opposing sides of the housings 34.

The interior of the housing 34 is provided with a plurality of vertically spaced pairs of opposite side shelf supporting assemblies 74 and 76 from which a plurality of horizontally slidable tray defining drawers 78, 80, 82, 84 and 86 are operatively supported.

The doors 52 and 54 are supported from the housings 34 and 44 by means of offset pivot defining hinge assemblies 88 and 90 whereby the doors 52 and 54 may be swung to fully open positions closely overlying the remote side walls 36 and 38 of the housings 34 and 44 such as the phantom line position of the door 52 illustrated in FIG. 3. In addition, the inner surfaces of the doors 52 and 54 are covered by means of pegboard panels 92 and 94 secured over the inner surfaces of the doors 52 and 54 in spaced relation thereto in any convenient manner such as by fasteners 95 and 96 secured through the pegboard panels and mounting tabs (not shown) carried by the doors 52 and 54.

The housing 44 includes a plurality of vertically spaced pairs of opposite side guides 98 and 100 from which a plurality of tray defining shelves 102, 104 and 106 are operatively supported. The shelves 102 and 104 include front walls 112 similar to the front walls provided on the tray defining drawers 78, 80, 82, 84 and 86 and the center portions of the forward edges of the shelves 106 and 108 are provided with horizontally retractable pull handles 114 and 116, respectively. Further, the door 52 includes a conventional dead bolt type latch assembly referred to in general by the reference numeral 118 which is operable to releasably retain the door 52 in closed position and which includes a spring urged actuator 120 which may be manipulated to unlatch the door 52 only after the door 54 has been opened. The door 54, on the other hand, includes a latching arm 122 supported from the timber portion of a keylock 124 mounted through the door 54 and accordingly, it may be seen that the door 54 may be locked relative to the door 52 and that the door 52 may be opened only after the door 54 has been unlocked relative to the door 52.

A pair of apertured upwardly projecting brackets 126 and 128 are supported from the upper marginal edge portions of the side Iwalls 46 and 48 of the housing 44 and a similar pair of upwardly projecting apertured brackets 130 and 32 are supported from the upper marginal edge portions of the opposite sides of the housing 34. Also, the upper marginal edge portions of the side walls 46 and 48 of the housing 44 are notched as at 134 and 136 in alignment with the brackets 126 and 28 in the upper marginal edge portions of the opposite sides of the housing 34 are notched as at 138 and 140 in alignment with the brackets I130 and 132. The brackets 130, 132, 134 and 136 are positioned so as to have the apertures formed therein aligned when the cabinet sections 32 and 34 are disposed on the wheeled support base with the T-bars or rods 66 locking the cabinet sections 30 and 32 together and a locking shaft portion 144 is passed through the apertured brackets 130, 132, 134 and 136 and includes portions adjacent the brackets received in the notches 138, 140, 134 and 136. The locking shaft portion 144 is also passed through depending aligned sleeve portions 146, 148 and 150 dependingly supported from the undersurface of the work bench defining top 16 of the cabinet structure 14. In this manner, the locking shaft portion 144 is utilized to removably secure the top 16 to the upper ends of the cabinet sections 30 and 32 with the undersurface of the top 16 resting upon the upper marginal edges of the housings 34 and 44. The undersurface of the top 16 is grooved as at 152 in order to receive the crossheads 70 of the T-rods 66 and the opposite ends of the top 16 project outwardly from the remote sides of the housings 34 and 44.

The portion of the top 16 projecting outwardly from the side of the housing 34 has a plurality of openings 154 formed therethrough and the openings 154 may be utilized to enable workpieces supported on the top of the top 16 to have bores or passages formed therethrough by means of a drill without marring the upper surface of the top 16.

Additionally, the top 16 may be predrilled as at 156, see FIG. l in order to provide mounting holes for a readily removable light structure (not shown).

The front and side edges of the top 16 have molding strips 158 and 160, respectively secured thereto and the strips 158 and 160 project slightly upwardly above the top 16 'which may be conveniently formed of heavy gauge plywood in order to provide a shallow upwardly opening recess 162 in which to receive a wear surface defining panel 164 of any convenient material. The panel 164 may of course be readily changed whenever desired.

In order to provide a more convenient workpiece support and tool carrying apparatus, a spring urged eXtension cord reel assembly y166 may be supported from the inner surface of the door 54 in any convenient manner and plugged into any suitable electrical receptacle within the reach of the extension cord. The extension cord may of course be electrically connected to any suitable electrical outlet (not shown) mounted in any convenient manner on the cabinet structure 14 and may also be electrically connected to the removable lamp (not shown) mountable on the top 16 by means of the mounting holes 156.

The end edge portion of the top 16 overlying the outer side wall 48 of the housing 44 and the adjacent portion of the rear side edge of the top 16 include upwardly opening blind bores 170 and van upstanding fence structure referred to in general by the reference numeral 172 is provided and includes a pair of upstanding panel members 174 and 176 pivotally secured together by means of a hinge assembly 178 and including depending pins 180 receivable downwardly in the bores 170 to retain the fence structure 172 in an upright position at one corner portion of the top `16 in a readily removable manner.

Further, the cabinet sections 30 and 32 may conveniently be constructed of sheet metal and the pegboard panels 92 and 94 secured in spaced relation relative to the inner surfaces of the doors 52 and 54 may have any form of suitable mounting brackets (not shown) specifically designed for use in conjunction with Peg Board panels removably supported therefrom whereby a plurality of various tools may be supported from the inner sur-faces of the doors 52 and 54. In addition, various shelves and drawers of the cabinet sections 30 and 32 may be constructed of any desired size limited only by their number and size of the housings 34 and 44.

The foregoing is considered as illustrative only of the principles of the invention. Further, since numerous modifications and changes will readily occur to those skilled in the art, it is not desired to limit the invention to the exact construction and operation shown and described.

What is claimed as new is as follows:

1. A tool cabinet comprising a wheeled base defining an upwardly opening receptacle, a pair of cabinet sections removably secured to each other and removably downwardly receivable in said receptacle for support from said base, and a single removable workbench defining top disposed over and downwardly engaged with and releasably secured to the upper portions of said cabinet sections against upward displacement relative to said cabinet sections.

2. The combination of claim 1 wherein at least one marginal edge portion of said top projects outwardly beyond the adjacent side of the corresponding cabinet section.

3. The combination of claim 2 wherein said one marginal edge portion includes an upstanding opening extending therethrough disposed outwardly of said corresponding cabinet section.

4. The combination of claim 1 wherein said top includes an upstanding fence structure, said fence structure including a pair of joined angulated wall members delining a corner portion between adjacent sides of said wall members, said fence structure being removably supported from a corner portion of said top conforming generally to the corner portion dened by said wall members.

5. The combination of claim 4 wherein said wall members are joined at adjacent end edge portions thereof by a hinge structure disposed at the apex of the corner portion defined by said fence structure, said wall members, when removed from said top, being relatively pivotable to compact storage positions disposed in closely spaced side-by-side relation.

6. A tool cabinet comprising a wheeled base, a pair of cabinet sections removably supported from said base in side-byside relation, and releasable means removably securing said cabinet sections together for handling as a single integral unit independent of said base.

7. The combination of claim 6 including a workbench dening top disposed over said cabinet sections and removably supported therefrom.

8. The combination of claim 7 wherein said releasable means and said top include coacting portions preventing release of said releasable means while said top is supported from said cabinet sections and thereby prevent said cabinet sections from being separated while said top is secured to said cabinet sections.

9. The combination of claim 6 wherein the opposing sides of said cabinets include pairs of corresponding upstanding edge portions, said releasable means including a plurality of vertically overlapped members dening a set of aligned upstanding passages carried by each pair of said corresponding edge portions and a pair of elongated rods passed through each set of upstanding passages.

10. The combination of claim 9 wherein said rods include laterally projecting portions adjacent their upper ends overlying upper portions of said opposing sides and supported therefrom.

11. The combination of claim 9 wherein said rods include laterally projecting portions adjacent their upper ends overlying upper portions of said opposing sides and supported therefrom, a workbench defining top disposed over said cabinet sections and removably supported therefrom.

12. The combination of claim 11 wherein said removable top overlies the upper ends of said rods and thereby prevents removal of the latter until said top has been removed.

13. The combination of claim 6 wherein said cabinets include corresponding generally coplanar open sides, a pair of horizontally swingable closure doors pivotally secured along remote edge portions thereof to the remote edge portions of said open sides of said cabinet sections, the free swinging edge portions of said doors being closely adjacent each other when said doors are closed and spaced intermediate the opposite sides of the open side of one of said cabinet sections.

14. The combination of claim 13 wherein one of said doors includes means releasable from within said one cabinet structure for securing said one door in the closed position and the other door includes means releasable from the outside of said one cabinet structure for securing said other door in the closed position.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 725,464 4/1903 Lutz 108-28 1,340,562 5/1920 Sandmann 312-111 1,488,319 3/1924 De Canio et a1. 108-114 X 1,983,307 12/1939 Regenhardt 312-257 X 2,232,007 2/1941 Ligen 312-250 X 2,942,924 6/1960 stangen 108-27 X 3,001,844 9/1961 spring 108114 3,087,767 4/1963 scheu 312-250 X 3,178,245 4/1965 Morioka et a1 312-257 3,261,307 7/1966 salkoff 10s-114 JAMES T. MCCALL, Primary Examiner Us. C1. XR. 10s- 28, 312-250 

